


The Weighing of the Heart

by LeftHand



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Blood and Gore, Established Relationship, M/M, Mythology - Freeform, a lot of cryptic bullshit, this is an excuse for me to explore characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 11:10:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftHand/pseuds/LeftHand
Summary: “The ancient magic of this world has stirred things. There may yet be another war on the horizon. Will you fight?”





	The Weighing of the Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vashoth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vashoth/gifts).



> A self indulgent foray into the extensive and beautiful world of [ Clipped Wings.](http://archiveofourown.org/series/675122)

“Reports confirm the attack resulted in twelve dead and a further eight injured, two of whom are in a critical condition. This is the second attack on a populated area in the past three months. People are asking if the sudden spike in non-human activity has been due to the establishment of Vishkar.” 

Jesse looked up over his drink as Hanzo mumbled, “No.” 

Outwardly the man did not appear to be watching the screen and his fingers brushed the pages of his book. Even so, Jesse knew for a fact Hanzo was listening. Though not exactly to Jesse’s reading tastes, the heavy excerpt on the anatomy of goblins had nothing in it to garner such a scowl - except perhaps the poor illustrations of the ugly little creatures.

“We have a representative of the company with us here today. Satya Vaswani, what do you have to say on the London attack?” 

An elegant woman with pristine hair and nails took to the camera, a respectful smile plastered on her face. “Thank you, Karen. We believe the spike in non-human aggression can be equated with the further expansion of the city: the plans to push the stretch of human progress further into the territory of non-humans. Our advancement as a race has never evoked a lame reaction from the magical kind. Only now that their numbers are strengthened enough to pose a threat after centuries of lax security on our behalf do they choose to attack.”

The reporter looked taken aback by such an opinionated answer. “Miss Vaswani, with all due respect, these instances of magical attack were presumed to be an anomalistic occurrence. Are you suggesting there is a pattern?” 

Jesse caught Hanzo tightening his grip on the book from the corner of his eye. 

“Karen, I can assure you that Vishkar is aware of the further developments of magical interference.” She chose then to level a gold gaze on the camera. “But with our help Humanity can be assured order. Vishkar is developing technology to further protect against such attacks, and we care deeply for the welfare of our people. To prove as such Vishkar is donating half a million pounds towards reparations of these attacks and towards the grieving families of the victims--” 

It was Hanzo’s second scoff that tipped Jesse into finally switching the screen off completely. 

“Somethin’ botherin’ you, Dragonling?” Jesse poked despite already feeling the annoyance rolling off Hanzo in great, sour waves. Half expecting the man to grit his teeth and shake his head, Jesse was somewhat surprised when Hanzo put his book down and leaned back into the armchair with a terse sigh. 

“You are aware of the attack?” 

If you listened to the atmospherical grapevine that was the clouds of magic chiming in the air, indignant at the death of their own, it was hard to miss the attack. Even thousands of miles away from it as they were, Jesse felt it in the air like a deadweight of tension tying knots in his chest. “Yeah, sugar. Felt it when it happened.”

Hanzo nodded. “It was not the death of the creature that caused the spike in energy. Vishkar killed a Unicorn.” 

Jesse near enough spat out his drink. “A--what?” He started to laugh in doubt, but Hanzo shook his head with a glare that had Jesse swallowing his amusement quickly.

“The Unicorns are pure beacons of energy. Think of them like...” Hanzo frowned as he searched for the correct words. “Think of them like powerhouses of gathered emotion. Unicorns aren’t born; they’re made in the brightest moments of life. Amass enough good energy and a Unicorn may step into the plane of our reality.” Hanzo stood and paced to the table where Jesse sat, previously watching an aged human sitcom. He took the drink from Jesse’s hand and swirled the liquid in the glass thoughtfully. “They grant fertility, good fortune, happiness. Simply by existing they further the progress of nature, they tip a negative balance into a positive one.”

Jesse frowned; though the words were light, Hanzo’s scowl deepened. “They have been particularly rare these last four hundred years and they were never common to begin with.”

“And yer’ sayin’ Vishkar nabbed one?”

“If Vishkar had simply killed the beast, it may not have evoked such a reaction.”

Jesse didn’t like where this was going, he could feel the annoyance from Hanzo morphing into disgust. “From what I have gathered on the situation, the reason for the magical veil around us feeling so sick is that Vishkar captured a Unicorn and performed experiments.”

Jesse had been involved in Blackwatch, he had seen Humans experimenting and the ambiguous places they were willing to take it. “Oh.”

“The technology they are using currently, the reason they were able to do what they did is that they are harnessing magical prowess.”

Jesse didn’t know what to say, so he instead continued watching Hanzo’s shifting expressions and the uncomfortable tug at his lips. “I have not felt such a strong shift in energy in thousands of years...Not since…”

Jesse was stopped from finishing with ‘the magic wars?’ by the sudden roiling imagery of swordplay, flashes of green and red.

Hanzo hadn’t felt such an energy shift since he killed his brother.

Jesse hesitantly raised his hand, pushing his fingers atop Hanzo’s. Hanzo put the glass back on the table so he could properly take the Fae’s hand and twine their fingers together.

“I mean, I ain’t an expert on it but in old books,” Jesse cleared his throat, directly avoiding mentioning Blackwatch’s own library on the subject matter of magical creatures, “in old books it made out Unicorns were rare as rain in summer, and even harder to catch.”

Hanzo nodded. “Yes, that is true.”

“So how d’ya reckon they got one? How d’ya reckon they kept it caged?” 

Hanzo frowned, finally picking up on what Jesse was alluding to. “What are you suggesting?”

“Well I figure a Unicorn’d have half a mind to keep right on away from humans. What if Vishkar ain’t just employin’ humans?”

“What inspired this?”

Jesse gestured to the now black screen. “Thought I just saw someone a little more’n human just now.”

Hanzo’s brow furrowed before he leaned back. “Fae?” 

Jesse shook his head. “Honestly ain’t got a clue what she is, but that Satya Vaswani had an aura ‘bout her.”

Hanzo stood, pulling Jesse’s hand with him. “We should move on until the attacks cease.”

He rubbed circles into the man’s skin as he considered his words. Jesse wasn’t the biggest fan of Paris, but Hanzo had a keen soft spot for the patisseries. He had no real issue with moving on, but something was niggling at him. 

“The thing that killed all those people in London?”

“A Revenant.”

“Why’d a Revenant kill a bunch of folk?”

Hanzo pursed his lips. “Some beings hold affinity to the old magics of this world. Unicorns are sacred in some respects. They understand the tipping of the balance and they stand up to it. When one dies, it’s cataclysmic. It shakes our world. Humans can feel it, they just don’t know what it is. The negative energies raise the dead, they bring forward creatures unafraid of the shadows humans cast. The humans have in the past and always will shoot themselves in the foot.”

“So what yer’ sayin’ is that the Revenant appeared because of Vishkar?”

“No.”

“No?”

“It appeared because humans are willfully destructive, and it is drawn to that.”

Jesse’s mind flashed suddenly with a face he recognised well; he’d mimicked it once after all. Green hair and pleading eyes mouthing words: ‘ _ Brother please, if we were to just teach the humans they met yet learn.’ _

“Genji didn’t quite agree with ya did he?” Jesse blurted even as Hanzo shot daggers at him. 

His tone was warning and he dropped the fae’s hand. “Jesse.”

Jesse shrugged. “‘M just sayin’ doll.” He deflated when Hanzo’s face turned from bitterness to remorse and he stepped forward, pushing a hand to the man’s face. “Dragonling.” 

Jesse admitted to himself he was interested in this turn of events, that his curiosity of what was occurring over the Channel tugged on him like he was being summoned. Like the chaos was drawing him to it just as easily as it had the Knight Revenant. He’d heard little from Gabe on the matter but he knew something was amiss. He felt it around him like a tangible presence. It was as if so many uneasy voices were whispering to him that it had long since turned to a quiet hum of white noise. 

He wasn’t sure if it was him being Fae or him being Jesse McCree. The two had long since blurred themselves into an indecipherable mess. 

Even so, he knew where his priorities lay. “Dragonling,” he continued, hand still pressed to Hanzo’s cheek even as he looked pointedly away, “darlin’, how about a trip to Australia? I don’t half miss hidin’ giant spiders in your sweets.” 

Hanzo sighed something long-suffering, but pressed his face into Jesse’s hand with a small laugh. “As I remember, the last time we were there you insisted there were too many snakes.”

“An’ I can’t stand ‘em. Rightly so too dang it, they ain’t got any arms.” 

That coaxed a real laugh from Hanzo. “Alright, my fae. We will away. Just perhaps to somewhere with fewer snakes.”

 

They ended up in New Zealand. Decidedly fewer snakes and decidedly more mountains and greenery. Also rain. The patters of it against the windowpane of their newfound home had Jesse sorely craving the blistering heat of the New Mexican desert in a way he never thought he would. He sat up against the glass with a cigar hanging from his lips and a softly sleeping Hanzo at his side. The dragon’s head rested safely against Jesse’s shoulder, and everytime breath left his lips Jesse’s fondness grew impossibly stronger. 

Neither he nor Hanzo necessarily required sleep, but sometimes it was nice to drift out of reality and reconnect with unconsciousness. Sleep had once been one of the few solaces to Jesse’s long imprisonment in the Stone Forest. His mortal body could not escape, but for a few hours he could near enough trick himself that his mind had. 

More recently he related sleep to Hanzo. To dark hair splayed on white sheets and a warm body curled against his. 

He stubbed his cigar out in a tray and leaned his weight back against the man beside him, letting his eyes flutter shut. 

When he opened them again he found himself sat cross-legged in a place that was completely pitch black, save for the flickering of candles set in a circle around him. He couldn’t move, rooted to the spot even as he struggled against the weighted press of magic. His own powers flickered within himself in time with the swaying candlelight. It was only when he tore his gaze away from the fire in panic that he made eye contact with the woman sat across from him. Her hair, a shock of white, was braided and slung around her neck. She mirrored his position, sat leisurely with her hands on her knees. She wasn’t quite smiling, but neither was her expression neutral. 

“Hello Jesse.” 

Jesse’s heart dropped through him and burned in his stomach like hot coals. If this was a nightmare Hanzo would have woken him up, Jesse would have pulled himself from the dream. 

“Ana?” 

The woman laughed delicately in a way that was wholly without sarcasm, mirth touching her eyes and crinkling them at the corners. “Perhaps once, perhaps in another life.” The candles burned brighter as the smile dropped and she carefully assessed him. “As you were Jesse McCree, I was Ana Amari.”

Jesse squinted and squirmed against his trapped limbs. “Yeah, you sound one helluva lot like her. Ain’t her though. She’s gotta be long dead and gone now.”

Another chime of laughter. “And you, Jesse, have not changed.”

Even as his head screamed at him to disbelieve the imagery and turn himself off, he ached with emotion and pulled back hurriedly. “You a ghost?” 

“Such a simple question and yet it would require such a complex answer.”

“Are you going to answer everythin’ in riddles?” 

“I wish only to have you consider my words.”

“Was that a yes?” 

“Yes.”

“Damn.”

Even despite his predicament or wherever he found himself, he couldn’t help but think the woman before him  _ looked _ like her, held the same knowing gaze in amber eyes and hidden smile in her expression. Ana had always come off as if she knew a joke you weren’t privy to and it’d driven Jesse up the wall at first. He was young and headstrong and needed to be in on every punchline, know every whispered thing. At the time, he hadn’t realised that Ana used it against him. That she baited him into altercations and training. She had played Jesse McCree like a fiddle and possibly saved his life for it. 

He missed her.

“If you are Ana,” he hedged, “n’ why are you here now?”

Her expression grew grave and she gestured before her. 

There sat a brass, antique scale.

Jesse didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed it before. Perhaps it had only just appeared. This in-between world was strange after all. 

Upon each pan lay an item: A human heart and a single white feather, stood upright. 

The human heart, of course, outweighed the feather and sat far closer to the ground.

Ana’s eyes shined sadly in the candlelight. “There is unbalance to the world and your heart lays tied to it all.”

McCree eyed it with suspicion. “You sayin’ that’s mine?” 

Ana met his eye again and tilted her head. “Do you not feel the answer? You have been weighed and judged, yet the Field of Reeds lays beyond your reach. Perhaps it will forevermore. However...” 

She waved a hand and the darkness was chased away by the sudden, unearthly blue flaring of the candles around them as if doused in fuel. The influx of light revealed the contemptuous faces of souls watching them, sat upon high pedestals, carefully observing the proceedings below. Jesse was reminded of the need to jolt back, to panic. But Ana waved her hand and the candles returned to normal, drenching them once again in selective darkness.

“There are powers beyond this reality that yet seek balance to a world gone mad.”

Jesse suddenly found himself not wanting anything to do with this.

“Frankly ma’am, I don’t see how any of this rightly concerns me. Now if you’ll just let me go--”

Ana shook her head. “You have been selected as part of these proceedings. Your fate is intertwined with what is to come. Balance must be restored to this world lest we descend into catastrophe and none again find the Field of Reeds.”

“Amari, I ain’t keen on reeds, let me at Panama Diner and a rare steak.”

For a second Jesse was sure she might laugh, but instead she sighed deeply. “You never were unintelligent, Jesse McCree, no matter how much you wished to fool those around you into believing it. Slyer than a fox and trickier to catch. We both knew it.”

Jesse pursed his lips with a scowl.

“You have felt the disturbance just the same as the rest of us. Once upon a time you used to yearn to achieve goodness; I still feel it in your heart despite its weight.”

Jesse turned a dubious scowl to the heart upon the pan. Ana ran a finger across the flesh and Jesse doubled over in shock as if the touch had emanated within his very chest. 

Ana continued, “The ancient magic of this world has stirred things. There may yet be another war on the horizon. Will you fight?”

Jesse had long since gained a taste for running. For a place at the side of a dragon. Though he knew himself callous for it, his former lust for righteous justice had extinguished with his mortality. He’d found beauty in simplicity. He’d found Hanzo. 

Ana’s eye met him and she gestured to her side.

There in the barely lit darkness lay a prone body that Jesse recognised instantly as Hanzo. His chest was caved in and blood smeared across his pale face and lips. Even as Jesse watched, it appeared as if he was fading away, energy disintegrating into the darkness.

“..H-Hanzo?” Jesse tried again to struggle against the invisible bonds. The disintegration continued and that was then he saw himself next to the body, kneeling at its side. The reflection of himself pulled at Hanzo and begged him, “ _ No...No don’t leave me...I can’t be alone again, you can’t do this. Han, please, dragonling don’t…” _

It was only when the body had completely disappeared and he turned back to Ana that he realised he was crying. 

She met his expression firmly. “This unbalance will take no hostages and leave no survivors. You can not run.  _ He _ can not run.” Her voice turned soft. “What I just showed you was a potential that may yet come to pass.”

His breath hitched painfully in his throat as words eluded him. Ana took sympathy. 

“Find the Djinn. Find Satya Vaswani. She is more than she appears.” 

“Why?” he choked out.

Her voice was soft and her eyes sad when she replied, “Because you were always meant for great things, Jesse. You never expected people to notice. But so many did. We all did. And now you must follow through.” 

 

When he woke it was to Hanzo shaking his shoulders desperately. 

“Howdy,” he rasped, and Hanzo fell back in relief, a large exhale of air leaving his lungs like a human holding its breath underwater for too long before surfacing. 

He sat up slowly, rubbing his chest as he did. He raised a hand to his cheek to find the dampness of tear tracks. “Hell.”

“ _ You _ .” Hanzo whapped his shoulder with an open hand. “What was that? Was that a trick? Jesse you have been unconscious for ten minutes. I could do nothing to stir you.” 

“Hell,” Jesse repeated, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. “Think I just saw a ghost.”

“I could not  _ find _ you. It was as if you were...” He didn’t say “dead” but Jesse felt it in the silence. 

“Darlin’ I ain’t technically alive.” 

“Do not joke with me. Not now.” 

Something deep within his chest still throbbed where Ana had traced a finger across the heart upon the scale. He kept his hand pushed tightly to his own chest even as Hanzo lay his own hand over it. He understood the man was perturbed due to worry, but Jesse could barely untangle his own thought processes, let alone comfort the dragon’s. Visions of Hanzo’s prone body, his hair a mess around an expressionless face kept spinning circles around his mind, his own voice begging for the man not to leave him. 

He moved forward to wrap his arms tightly around Hanzo, burying his face in the crook of his neck and breathing in the smell of him, the warmth of the blood in his veins and the crackle of energy underneath the surface. All so very Hanzo and all so very alive. 

Hanzo’s arms locked around him in return and they sat there for a second as he pressed a kiss into his hair. “Will you tell me what you saw?”

Jesse nodded against him but made no move to pull away. “Darlin’, you’re gonna have to trust me.”

“I already do,” Hanzo responded firmly. 

Ana’s words echoed in his head. Whatever he’d just seen, whatever he’d just experienced, he couldn’t risk the consequence of it being true. 

“We’re goin’ to London. We’re goin’ to find Satya Vaswani.” 

Hanzo paused for a moment, and Jesse could feel the confusion coming off of him in waves before finally he settled on a response and mumbled it against a kiss to Jesse’s forehead. “Explain on the way.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Huge thank you to [ tsol ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorQui/pseuds/DoctorQui) and [ mango ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentMango) for betaing and just generally putting up with me.  
> They happen to have also contributed works to this universe and I highly recommend you go read them.  
> And of course a massive shout out to [ Elaine ](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Vashoth) for the constant stream of inspiration and support. Wouldn't be able to do shit without ya, bud.  
> Feel free to hmu on [ tumblr. ](http://mccrees-left-arm.tumblr.com)


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